State departments of transportation (DOTs) and local governments committed a little over $117 billion in funding for highway, bridge, transit, port and other transportation-related construction projects during 2012, according to new analysis of the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA).

ARTBA’s monthly report, “Value of Transportation Construction Put in Place,” was compiled by ARTBA Chief Economist Alison Premo Black, Ph.D.  Black notes that while this represents a 1-percent increase more than the $116 billion committed in 2011, real transportation construction activity fell well short of its 2010 peak, when $129 billion worth of construction work was “put in place” during the year, in large part because of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA), a.ka. “The Stimulus.”

Black’s analysis also found the following changes in value by mode:

• Highways– Down 4.3 percent to $45.9 billion, compared to $47.9 billion in 2011, this is the only mode that did not experience an increase in construction last year.
• Bridge – Up 4.5 percent to $28.3 billion, compared to $27.1 billion in 2011.  The total was a record for bridge construction. It remains to be seen how long the upward trend can continue, but the market should get a short-term boost from repair work on bridges damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
• Airport Runways – Up 14.1 percent to $4.8 billion, compared to $4.2 billion in 2011. The upward trend suggests that enactment of Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization legislation in February 2012 is beginning to have a positive impact on airport construction.
• Subway & Light Rail – Up 16.7 percent to $6.6 billion, compared to $5.7 billion in 2011. Virtually all year, construction spending on transit projects exceeded the 2011 pace, including a 21 percent increase in December.  Enactment of MAP-21 should continue have to have a positive impact on this market.
• Ports– Up 10 percent to $1.6 billion, compared to $1.5 billion in 2011, ports had a strong year in preparation for the expansion of the Panama Canal and the larger freight vessels it will most likely bring.
• Railroads – Up 7.3 percent to $10.3 billion, compared to $9.6 billion in 2011, private rail is benefiting from the growth of freight shipments, which generates a need for more maintenance.

ARTBA’s analysis found that transportation construction activity accounted for 13.8 percent of all U.S. construction work put in place, down from 14.6 percent during 2011 and 15 percent in 2010.

Source: American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA)